Greinwich Terrace Residents Offered Buyout

Residents in the Greinwich Terrace neighborhood have been flooded out between 2017 and most recently during last week's record rain. For at least four years, many people living within the neighborhood have had to rebuild, only to lose their homes and vehicles again and again. If it's not flood water, it's hurricanes.

It's a helpless situation that has cost these Lake Area residents a lot of heartache, property loss, and money. Some Terrace residents have lived in the community since the '60s, but in recent years, it's been a struggle to hold on to their property, much less live in it. Constant drainage issues now plague the community. Residents are outraged with city leaders and demanding answers.

The neighborhood was once the pride of Lake Charles. In the '50s and '60s, it served as housing for United States Air Force personnel and their families working at the Chennault International Airport (formally a U.S. Air Force base.) As of late, the neighborhood has been flooded out so repeatedly that most no longer have the time, patience, or money to rebuild again.

With last week's flooding being the last straw, Governor John Bel Edwards offered Terrace homeowners a way out. As part of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, the state is offering homeowners a voluntary buyout option for those who've had enough and want to move out of the neighborhood. KPLC reports $30 million was set aside for the buyout program from funds made available through a $1.2 billion federal mitigation grant awarded to Louisiana last September.

For more information about the Greinwich Terrace neighborhood buyout program, go to watershed.la.gov/buyouts or call 866-735-2001 for more details.